Eintracht and tomoni mental health launch training programme | OneFootball

The aim of the jointly developed new approaches is to embed mental health in sport in the long term. The campaign ‘It takes the whole club’ accompanies the official launch.

Eintracht Frankfurt and the not-for-profit organisation tomoni mental health are developing new approaches together to embed mental health in sport in the long term. tomoni.sports is the first training programme to focus on early detection, knowledge and cooperation. The aim of the collaboration is to raise awareness of mental health in sport on a long-term basis, and to enable coaches to recognise the early signs of mental stress in children and young people and take supportive action.

Collective responsibility

For over a year, coaches and mentors from competitive and grassroots sports, as well as sports psychologists from Eintracht Frankfurt's youth academy, worked together with scientific and educational experts and young people affected by mental health issues from tomoni mental health to develop the tomoni.sports training programme. 

“At Eintracht Frankfurt, we see sport as a space where values such as solidarity, respect and mutual support can be experienced,” explained Philipp Reschke, Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG board member. “This is exactly where tomoni.sports comes in – because mental health is not an individual responsibility, but a collective one. We are delighted that, with the help of the experience and expertise of our many sporting, educational and psychological experts from Eintracht Frankfurt's grassroots and elite sports programmes, we have been able to help develop a range of services tailored to the entire sporting environment.”

Three practical modules

Three practical learning modules have been developed, covering topics such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders as well as autism and ADHD. They enable those who work with young people in sport – either full-time or on a voluntary basis – to recognise emotional stresses at an early stage and to act confidently in day-to-day training.

“The training programme is aimed at anyone who works with youth in sport,” continued Reschke. “From individuals to sports clubs and associations, tomoni.sports aims to equip everyone with the tools to detect signs of mental health problems in children and young people.” 

The programme is intended to have an impact wherever sport creates community and shared responsibility – whether that’s in competitive or grassroots sport, in team or individual sports, in football, gymnastics, swimming or other sports.

“Our coaches are often among the first to notice changes in the behaviour, mood or motivation of children and young people,” said Dr Katharina Keller, vice president of Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. “With tomoni.sports, we are supporting them in finding a safe and sensitive way to deal with this. Mental health is not a marginal issue – neither in grassroots nor in competitive sports. Mental stress, eating disorders, ADHD and autism are a reality for many young people. Together we are taking responsibility and creating structures that provide support.”

Early detection can save lives

Mental health conditions are one of the greatest health challenges of our time. In Germany, over 20 million people are affected each year, and around 50 percent of all mental health conditions begin before the age of 15. These figures illustrate how crucial early attention and targeted support are.  

“Early detection begins with awareness and knowledge,” commented Alix Puhl, co-founder of tomoni mental health. “When mentors recognise the signals and know how they can respond, it gives young people the chance of targeted help. It’s often little signs – withdrawal, a change in behaviour, a quiet or loud child. When people around them notice this and can interpret it correctly, it can change everything. That is why tomoni.sports starts at the exact point where preventive action is possible: in the immediate environment of young people.”

Campaign launch: ‘It takes the whole club’ 

The official launch of tomoni.sports is being supported by the accompanying campaign ‘It takes the whole club’. To kick things off, various activations will be taking place at Eintracht’s stadiums in Dreieich, at Brentanobad and at Deutsche Bank Park, complemented by a billboard and advertising campaign in Frankfurt city centre. In addition to broad public visibility, the initiative has a clear objective: to get other clubs, associations and sporting organisations – from professional to amateur level – interested in the topic. In Frankfurt, Hesse and across the country.